Raleigh Competition Classic Road Bike 1970s

Description:
Not only is the Raleigh one of the oldest cycling brands of the world, it also is popular for its racing heritage. Which leads us to the second brand name on this bike: Carlton.

Carlton has been a very old road bike manufacture from Worksop, England. The much larger Raleigh bought Carlton to have facilities capable of building real high class bikes.
And indeed, the know-how of Carlton Cycles proved to be very beneficial for Raleigh.
It even led to the set-up of their famous Specialist Bicycle Development Unit. The result were numerous championships for Raleigh-sponsored teams

At the peak of sportive triumph stood the Dutch cycling Team TI Raleigh which was extremely successful from the 1970s to the 1980s.
Many famous champions rode in this équipe, among them Joop Zoetemelk, Jan Raas, Gerrie Knetemann, Hennie Kuiper, Dave Lloyd, Urs Freuler, Johan van der Velde and Didi Thurau.
However, in 1981, Carlton Cycles was shut down and the brand disappeared from the market.

Our Raleigh Carlton Competition is one of the bikes which came from the factory in Worksop and were still to proudly bear the name of Carlton Cycles.
The bike we have here seems to have been made around 1976 for the continental market with the specifications reminding of the regular Gran Sport model and a copper paintjob and Campagnolo Record setup which were usually to be found on the Raleigh International.

Further parts include a Cinelli Cockpit plus saddle and Weinmann center-pull brakes, including rare Mathauser brakepads!

Not heavy at all with its Reynolds 531 frameset, and stable enough for fast riding, this bike provides all the necessary comfort you would expect from a machine on which you can jaunt for a long Sunday afternoon in the countryside. You can, of course, tackle a historic bicycle race as well. »See Details

Condition:
Used. The bike is in good condition. The frame has no cracks, no dents and is not bent. Paintwork and decals are original. All parts have been thoroughly checked and are working fine.